Search Results for: Ty Gibbs

Nationwide Series Breakdown: U.S. Cellular 250

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Oh, what a difference a week can make.

Following a late-race (and hotly-debated) black flag while leading at last weekend’s Indiana 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that relegated the championship points leader to 15th and a mere one-point standings lead over Austin Dillon, Elliott Sadler took to Iowa Speedway Saturday, August 4, with a vengeance. After starting from the pole, Sadler took the race lead from Justin Allgaier late in the going, leading 60 laps en route to his third win of the 2012 season.

“They are not taking the championship from us!” cried Sadler after crossing the line by about a second over Allgaier. He should have plenty to cheer about — following his race win and a disappointing showing from Dillon, the Richard Childress Racing driver gave himself some much-needed breathing room in the points standings, increasing his lead to 18.

The Insignificance of Dodge’s Absence from 2013’s First Test

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There’s nothing surprising behind the announcement that Dodge won’t be taking part in the first test for the Cup Series’ 2013 race cars at Martinsville next week. Penske Racing’s on the way out of the Dodge camp after this season, a swirling rumor about the Andrettis coming from IndyCar to NASCAR proved fruitless, and there’s hardly a rosy relationship between the manufacturer and journeyman Robby Gordon. The same Robby Gordon that made the Daytona 500 as an underdog Dodge entry, and got no subsequent engine help despite making all but a plea for a Penske motor in his post-Duel press conference.

Fact of the matter is, there’s no sign whatsoever that Dodge has made any progress on finding a new flagship Cup team since Penske announced their defection back to Ford. The chances of Dodge being unrepresented in the 2013 Daytona 500 are not miniscule.

NASCAR Weekly Fan Q & A: What Happens To ‘Dinger Now?

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As I write this introductory sentence, AJ Allmendinger is less than 24 hours removed from the conclusion to his career with Penske Racing. So let’s not waste any time getting to what all of you, including *James Stenton* from _Manassas, VA_ are asking this Thursday:

*So what does AJ do now? Who’s going to sign him for 2013, if anyone? And will we ever know what he tested positive for?*

James, it’s a little early to place AJ with somebody else. But what I can tell you is on the NASCAR side, based on the Road To Recovery program’s timeline the earliest we’ll see him eligible for competition is February’s 2013 Daytona 500. In between will be a rough summer and fall, filled with the sport’s step-by-step rehabilitation and personal transition as the driver also goes through a divorce.

Meet the Six Drivers Making Their (Sorta) NASCAR Debuts This Weekend

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It’s a jam-packed two days of racing for NASCAR’s top three series this weekend, with the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series heading to Pocono Raceway while the Nationwide Series travels to Iowa Speedway.

As if the influx of racing (which will also be flanked with a K&N Pro Series event at Iowa and an ARCA race at Pocono) wasn’t enough, all three series will see new drivers join their ranks as first-time competitors — six in all. Of these six, four will be making their first NASCAR starts in the top three series, period, with a fifth possessing only one previous start.

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Looking Back: A Surprising 2012 for the Nationwide Series

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Anyone that’s followed NASCAR’s scheduling habits the past decade was far from surprised that one of the sure-fire races of the Nationwide Series season (Lucas Oil Raceway) was yanked from the schedule in favor of a 250-mile jaunt at the Brickyard. Never mind the logic that less crappy stock car racing is still crappy stock car racing.

But having said that as the Nationwide Series approaches its debut on the big track in Indy, the 2012 season has been, well, surprising, on a number of fronts. Enjoying a compelling title race for the second consecutive year after an ugly stretch of Cup dominance from 2006-2010, this year’s campaign has actually been worth watching. Now, heading down the summer stretch, here’s a few of those surprises that have made the season just that.

Childress Keeping Dillon in Nationwide a Smart Move

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On Monday, Richard Childress mentioned in an interview that his grandson, defending Camping World Truck Series champion and current Nationwide Series title competitor Austin Dillon, would remain in the second-tier series in 2013, ending speculation that the young driver might challenge Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. for the Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year title.

Smart move, Mr. Childress.

Of course, it’s unsurprising that Childress would decide to go this way with Dillon. It’s easy to forget that Dillon first drove in NASCAR in 2008, when he ran two Nationwide races and scored a fourth-place finish. Many teams might have thrown such a young talent onto the fast track to success after such a start, but Childress was in no hurry, entering his grandson in six Nationwide and Truck races in 2009 before finally going full-time in a truck in 2010 and 2011.

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Did You Notice? … Silly Season Swung Wide Open By One Bad NASCAR Drug Test

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*Did You Notice?…* That in life, all it takes is one fleeting moment, one spoken word to turn our lives from successful to shattered?

In this case, it was as simple and tasteless as peeing into a cup. A.J. Allmendinger’s life changed forever Tuesday, suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for violating the sport’s drug policy in a decision that plunges his career into chaos. The driver’s “B” sample, tested weeks after the “A” showed no change in result, an unknown substance (rumored to be everything from methamphetamine to a rare stimulant found in an energy drink A.J. was endorsing) the root cause of what has kept him on the sidelines since hours before the July 7th Cup Series race at Daytona.

Your 2012 Cup Champion: Look No Further Than These Five Drivers

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It certainly was strange not to have a Cup race to watch this past weekend. You get so used to the relentless nature of the schedule and the regular routine that when there is a brief moment of respite it seems, well, all a little strange. Now, though, with the off week consigned to the history books, it’s time for the stretch run and seventeen straight weekends of racing that will decide who does and doesn’t make the Chase; and ultimately who will be crowned the 2012 Sprint Cup Champion.

What Tony Stewart did last year in “the playoffs” was unparalleled in Chase history. No driver has ever won so many races to on the way to the wavy silver Sprint Cup trophy. You can top-5, top-10 the competition into the ground but wins count big. Real big. Truth is, it probably was something of an anomaly. How many drivers other than Smoke could have done that? You’re talking about a handful, at best. So yes, anything can happen.

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2012 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon

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Loudon is one of those racetracks, like Darlington, where the view from inside is vastly different from what you see on TV. With the tight confines in the corners, there is nearly always some hard racing somewhere. Plus, it’s one of those tracks that separate the best from the rest because it’s one of the most difficult on the circuit, and the driver is a more important part of the equation than at most tracks, which is something most fans have said they want. It’s a unique track, a flat mile, vastly different from the other two mile tracks on the schedule, Phoenix and Dover. Since renovations several years ago, there is passing.